Portugal has done it again. In this year’s Financial Times executive MBA ranking, three Portuguese programs sit among the best 100 in the world. The order changed, though. ISCTE Executive Education now leads the country, while the joint Católica and Nova SBE program and Porto Business School’s executive MBA keep their places on the list.
Three Portuguese business schools, three different stories
The FT ranking scores the 100 best executive MBAs on salary growth, career progression, goals achieved, diversity, internationalization, research, ESG teaching and carbon footprint. Each of the Portuguese schools shines in a different corner.
ISCTE: the new national leader
ISCTE Executive Education jumped 26 places, from 81st in 2025 to 55th worldwide. Its recent path tells a steady story: 100th in 2023, 92nd in 2024, 81st last year. The school’s president, José Crespo de Carvalho, says the ranking is only an output, and that impact and attracting better people matter more.
Some of the details:
- 5th in the world for ESG
- 22nd for alumni network and 40th for work experience
- the highest average alumni salary among the three Portuguese programs
- alumni satisfaction of 9.725 out of 10
- 63% women in management positions
Católica|Nova and Porto Business School
The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova slipped from 61st to 71st. Its executive director, Maria José Amich, points out that it remains the national leader among executive MBAs taught in English, and has been in the FT top 100 since 2015, consecutively since 2020. Some 34% of its students and 54% of its faculty are international, and every faculty member holds a doctorate. It ranks 12th worldwide on carbon footprint and 68th on research. Learning by doing is its signature, backed by a mentoring program that now involves nearly 50 CEOs.
Porto Business School rose 13 places to 82nd, one of the biggest climbs this year. Its alumni satisfaction grew from 8.48 to 8.89, and its career progress rank leapt 27 positions, from 90th to 63rd. Three years after finishing, alumni report an average pay rise of 63%, the highest among Portuguese schools. Dean José Esteves says the school redesigned the program three years ago to speed up leaders’ careers with a global outlook, and calls it the Portuguese school where careers move forward the most.
Why this matters beyond the podium
Being among the top MBA programs in the world gives Portuguese business schools a stronger voice abroad, and it gives professionals more choice at home. If you lead a team in tech, you may be weighing options like these. Many leaders who study this way end up steering software development companies, and meeting peers at technology events is a natural next step once the degree is done.
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